Table grape news

Seeing the world in 360º

The world of the table grape seasonal worker will be an immersive experience soon, with new video tools set to entice and educate prospective harvest workers.

The Australian Table Grape Association (ATGA) recently secured a $100,000 Victorian Government grant to fund the 360° worker training videos, mental health support for growers, and for recruitment planning.

The videos will be used as informative tools for labour hire providers, growers and general industry to educate potential recruits on what is required working a table grape harvest.

Viewers will get a first-person look at the sequence of tasks for seasonal harvest workers, from picking grapes in the vineyard, to in-field or shed packing, to loading into cool rooms and transportation.

Many seasonal workers who come into the industry have not yet seen a table grape property, let alone set foot on one, so these videos present an opportunity to prepare incoming workers for the job, while also ensuring that they are aware of the standard operating procedures the business should have in place.

Creating an awareness of expectation at both ends establishes transparency between workers and employers, cultivates a better working relationship and helps retain a skilled and capable workforce – at a time when growers need every pair of hands they can find.

The grant is part of the Victorian Government’s $1 million Seasonal Workforce Industry Support Program, which gives industry groups and organisations in priority harvest sectors and regions the resources to help farm business to recruit and retain workers.

“This support from the Victorian Government enables us to put in place activities that will not only recruit, retain and upskill labour for this current harvest, but importantly for future harvests,” ATGA CEO Jeff Scott said.

Filming took place in late April, and the videos will soon be available to circulate among networks, well in advance of recruitment for the 2021–22 season.

The videos will be complemented by testimonials from table grape workers, which help inform potential industry participants about the requirements of seasonal farm work, and promote an industry that harvests greatness – not just from its fruit, but its people. v

New team on the block

Since the start of March, the ATGA office in Mildura has been buzzing with activity. Our team more than doubled, with team and project leader Alison MacGregor, industry development manager Jenny Treeby and industry development officer Karen Connolly coming on board.

As promised, the industry development team will be out and about as soon as possible after harvest and to that end we are putting together a grower list for every state, so that we can plan to visit and meet you all.

As our commencement date coincided with harvest – at least for Sunraysia growers – we have been busy with behind-the-scenes office work rather than visiting.

But things are changing! In late April we travelled to visit as many Queensland growers as we could within a week. We’ve also visited growers in the Swan Valley and Carnarvon in Western Australia.Sunraysia will be last (but not least) on the list of visits – expect to see us around Sunraysia between May and September.

In the meantime, we have started developing a best practice management manual, which we will road-test with you all at the relevant stages.

Also on our radar has been the sourcing of new and useful production methods, concepts and innovative technologies. Along these lines, we have identified an assisted mapping technology using a combination of hardware and software to uniquely identify buds, berries and bunches. Technology like this may prove useful in refining crop regulation and more accurately predict yield estimates.

We were also pleased to successfully be awarded the Victorian Government grant to produce the three immersive 360° videos to introduce seasonal workers to the task involved in harvesting table grapes. Our team was involved in writing the successful application and has since worked on putting together a harvest jobs list to help provide ideas and concepts to the film crew.

We look forward to working with you all and hope you reach out so we can get to know you all. v

Alison, Jenny & Karen Industry development team

amacgregor@atga.net.au jtreeby@atga.net.au kconnolly@atga.net.au